FEAR OF FONDNESS

Chapter 19 RELATIONSHIP CURSES

Shinaya's POV:

"Yar, are you sure it was Zara? She was such a bright student, and I can't imagine her being into such stuff," I expressed my disbelief to Zunaira, struggling to fathom her cousin's involvement in an affair."I know, yar, it's hard to believe, but she was in love with him," Zunaira explained."But there must be something, some reason why she liked him, like his looks or intelligence, right?" I questioned, seeking some rational explanation.

" Because As we have heard about Osman he is a playboy with ordinary looks." I rolled my eyes.

"Come on, he didn't have an ordinary look, he was quite handsome," Mahnoor said smirkingly. I rolled my eyes at her flirty comments.

"No, she just loved him, and there was no specific reason for it," Zunaira clarified.

I shook my head in disbelief, finding it difficult to accept."A man can do anything in love," Aqsa muttered, her tone tinged with cynicism.

"She destroyed herself without anyone's help," Maryam remarked solemnly, reflecting on Zunaira's cousin's predicament.

"Taya Abu has arranged her marriage with his friend's son, it's happening at the end of the year," Zunaira disclosed, shifting the conversation to her cousin's impending marriage."But what about her education?" Mahnoor inquired, concerned about Zunaira's cousin's future. "It depends on her in-laws. If they permit, she might be able to continue," Zunaira explained, her tone tinged with uncertainty.

"It means she will never continue. You know, I told you about my neighbors; they married their daughter while she was in university, and her in-laws promised her that she would be able to continue her education. But after she got married, they simply trapped her in family issues, and she gave up her studies," Sadia shared her insights, shedding light on the harsh reality many women face.

"But you said that she wanted to get married soon to that man, what was his name, ah Osman right? So why didn't she ask him to come with the proposal? He will understand her and will surely help her in her studies," Aqsa suggested.

"Yeah, she did ask him, but he said that he wasn't serious about marriage. He considered their relationship a mere pastime, despite promising otherwise," Zunaira revealed, adding another layer to the story. I couldn't contain my frustration, expressing disbelief at her cousin's trust in Osman. 

"Was she naive or something? Why did she trust him so much? She should've known better, especially considering how insincere boys can be in this day and age!" I exclaimed, feeling exasperated. Aqsa offered a different perspective, defending her cousin's actions. 

"Not everyone possesses your level of wisdom," she countered Scarstacillay.

"Yeah, and not only this, but he also rejected any kind of relationship with her in front of his family," Zunaira added, further highlighting Osman's deceitful behavior."Men are such cheaters nowadays,"

 Zunaira concluded, echoing the sentiments shared by many."That's why I don't believe in love. There's no such thing as true love in this society. Everything is just a passing phase. Look at how her cousin's life is ruined because of a piece of shit like him," I declared, my frustration evident in my tone. Mahnoor attempted to offer a more optimistic perspective. "Come on, everyone is not the same," she said. "No, she's right," Maryam sided with me, defending my viewpoint. 

"In this society, no one is trustworthy. And men? Never!" Maryam added.

..............................................

As the free lecture came to an end, we made our way back to class. Mahnoor suggested going out for lunch.

"I don't really feel like it," I said as my mood was still affected by the events of the previous night."Oh, come on, it'll be fun! Let's go," Mahnoor insisted, and with a sigh, I agreed as they all insisted more and I also didn't want those things to get over my head.

As we settled in at the restaurant and placed our orders, Mahnoor brought up the topic of the Kadar shoot-out case."Hey, have you heard about the Kadar shoot-out case?" she asked, taking a sip of her juice.

" Yeah, that damn case and the fuckin politics surrounding it," she muttered, rolling her eyes in frustration.

" They blamed our party straightaway, without any investigation or proof!" she added, her irritation evident.

"What? What happened exactly?" I inquired, feeling a bit lost."Nothing much, just the fuckin Kadar family," she replied dismissively.

"Aqsa! Watch your language yar" Maryam scolded her, reverting to her role of keeping Aqsa and Mahnoor in check.

"Thank God, I missed this version of you," Aqsa smirked, and we all shared a knowing smile.

"What do you mean by the Kadar family?" I asked, intrigued by their conversation."You know about Dorab Kadar, right? The eldest son?" Aqsa asked me."Yeah, the one who's the chairman of the political party in Balochistan?" I confirmed."That's the one. His youngest son, Zaram Dorab Kadar, was chased by some assholes, and they think we had something to do with it," she explained, her frustration evident.

"But the situation was serious. They even tried to shoot him and his cousins. And with your party in power in Punjab and them being your rivals, it's no surprise they're pointing fingers at you," Mahnoor elaborated, making a valid point."What do you mean they shot him and his cousins?" I asked, feeling confused." They attempted to shoot them, but they're all safe. However, I heard one of them was injured. I'm not sure who though," she admitted uncertainly. 

My expression changed instantly. Who could be injured? Could it be Wassal? 

"Oh come on, it's dirty politics beta, anyone can do anything, I think they did it by themselves and now are blaming us and fetching sympathies," Aqsa said.

"hmm, that's possible" Mahnoor agreed. 

"And you know what, they are actually gangsters, did you know they have taken the attackers with them and are not handing them over to the police, if they are as truthful then they should have persuaded towards court and police." Aqsa defended her stance.

She actually had a point, If they were on the right side though, they should have persuaded a legal case...

"And about countless times they also have attacked us and neither of any time they admitted it,  and now, as it is now happening to them, they are on fire" Aqsa added and rolled her eyes dismissively.

"And you know, not only them, their brothers, Wakdar, Ali, and Toryal, and their sons, all of them are gangsters, they do whatever they want!" she added more in frustration..

" they once literally kidnapped our cousin just to make sure he resigned from the elections and guess who did it? His brother Ali's son!" she added and bombarded another bomb on me.

"What!!" I almost yelled.

I couldn't imagine them as gangsters. I had known Wassal's family since my childhood, as we had been friends for 3 generations. My grandfather and Wassal's grandfather were friends and then our fathers and then...no actually we weren't friends but at least I knew him...a little bit ...maybe.and I didn't notice any suspicious activity between them. Or did take notice of them? I questioned myself.

"yeah! Do you think you know them? they are gangsters, literally morons!" she declared in  astern tone.

I couldn't analyze the situation for some time, The Kadar family I knew was a decent family, famous for its development and unity, but this? 

"That's why I'm saying they are fuckin assholes," she added.

"Aqsa!" Maryam's tone was serious as she warned her again."Fine," Aqsa relented." But They deserve it," she insisted, though Maryam continued to give her a disapproving look."Whatever it is, it can affect your party badly," Mahnoor said.

"And it could have been worse if any of them had been seriously injured!" Maryam made a point.

"Whatever, they can't defeat us, that's why they are playing cheap!" Aqsa declared.

"And by the way, they are not dead, they are still alive, so what are they crying for?" she said and picked her fork to eat.

"Hmm, good point," Mahnoor smirked, digging into her food.

As they all started eating, I couldn't shake off those bombastic revelations from Aqsa.